Google+ – What it Could Mean for the Press Release

November 10, 2011

This week, Google+ finally unveiled its long awaited ‘Pages’ function which could have some important implications for the Press Release writer and the medium itself.

Seen as a viable challenger to Facebook, Google+ was launched earlier this year with a minimum of initial fuss as a purely individual network – all the profiles had to be an individual. Now the Pages function has been launched so institutions and brands can now have a corporate presence on the network.

How will this impact the Press Release writer? Google+ is the most efficient social media delivery system out there right now. It allows the user to group its followers in different ‘Circles’ – such as friends, family, media, colleagues etc. The user can then decide which specific groups get to see each post, link, picture, video or other upload. The advantages to the Press Release writer here should be obvious – if you add your media list to one circle or sub-divide it further, you can issue it to specific outlets however you see fit.

Google+ also adds other convergent elements such as YouTube for video and Picasa for pictures which allow them to be added seamlessly into a post. Google Docs and Gmail will also follow shortly so the Google user will soon be able to manage their entire portfolio from a single page.

The Press Release can also be commented on by the recipient immediately so rather than playing telephone or email tag with a reporter or blogger, now you can converse in real time about the release.

The Page will also act as a storehouse for all previous releases and material that has been issued so once new audience members join, they will be able to catch up on all previous press releases and items.

The final point to make is possibly the most important. Google has tweaked its search algorithm to make Google+ posts appear high in its search results, so press releases posted on Google+ will have a better chance of being seen and found in searches than if they were just sent out using a press release service.

Like any network though, the best uses will be found by going in and exploring yourself – there are so many other unique features on Google+ such as Sparks (integrated internet searches), Hangouts (integrated live video chat) and +1 (the ‘Likes’ equivalent of Google+) that only you can decide how best to implement them into your press release writing and distribution. One thing is for certain – the press release world will never be the same again. Better get used to it.